


off-balance

by etherealanything



Category: NCIS
Genre: Canon Compliant, Episode Tag, Episode: s05e04 Identity Crisis, F/F, Fluff, Ziva David is a Badass Who's Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27499045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etherealanything/pseuds/etherealanything
Summary: Ziva teaches Courtney how to fight (and learns the subtle art of dealing with your feelings).
Relationships: Ziva David/Courtney A. Krieger
Kudos: 7





	off-balance

**Author's Note:**

> ncis and characters aren't mine, otherwise we'd have canon queer ziva
> 
> brief context notes (but really, this episode is worth watching for the sheer sapphicness): Courtney is a low-level FBI agent who ends up assisting NCIS with their investigation, and though she seems somewhat useless, she ends up subduing the final culprit. During the episode, she asks if Ziva will teach her how to fight (and also if they can hug), and at the end, it’s revealed that she’s given Ziva her number.

A week after the successful capture of Kamal Konkani, Ziva keeps good (“makes good,” Tony corrects her) on her promise to Courtney. They agree to meet at a gym Ziva likes on Saturday morning, provided neither of them is working a case. Courtney doesn’t say it, but Ziva strongly suspects that she’s already moving up in their small, insular world.

When Saturday morning rolls around, Ziva finds herself strangely nervous. She’s been up for hours, of course, already completed her morning run, and yet the butterflies in her stomach remains. Logically, there’s nothing to be scared of. Ziva knows that she is more capable than Courtney in almost every respect– no two ways about it. Still, there’s something about her that Ziva doesn’t quite know how to deal with.

She shows up ten minutes early to the gym, determined to settle herself before their appointed time. Courtney is already waiting by the door, clutching that ridiculous briefcase. She smiles softly when she sees Ziva, letting herself be ushered into the gym.

Ziva begins by teaching Courtney the fundamentals. It’s obvious that whatever training she received was sorely lacking (not that Ziva expects better from the FBI). Her moves are stiff and perfunctory, meaning she’s always a little late to respond. Whatever instincts had allowed her to subdue the boy had been just that: instincts.

“You have to feel it,” Ziva says, searching for the right words to explain how instinctive fighting feels to her. At Courtney’s blank look, she sighs. “Look, what you need to do first is loosen up. Bend your knees and rock up and down a little.”

Courtney does as she’s told, but she’s still tense, nervousness radiating from every point in her body. She stares straight ahead as Ziva does a circle around her, inspecting her posture.

“Is it okay if I touch you?” Ziva asks, coming a little closer. 

“Y-yeah,” Courtney says, and Ziva thinks she might be blushing. 

It’s not a surprise exactly, not when Ziva has seen the way she reacted (or rather, didn’t react) to Tony’s advances. For all the shit she gives him, Ziva can’t deny that women are attracted to him. 

It’s not unwelcome, either. Courtney is undeniably pretty, even in all her awkwardness. There’s something endearing about her as well: the over-sincerity that Ziva would find grating in anyone else seems better when worn by her.

Ziva puts her hands on Courtney’s shoulders, noticing the way she tenses into them. She pushes down slightly and feels a little tension leave Courtney’s body. She’s still standing rigidly, though, back on her heels with knees re-locked.

“Relax,” she commands, enjoying the way that Courtney shivers at the sensation of Ziva’s breath ghosting her ear. “Let your arms hang by your side, and focus on breathing in and out.”

When she deems Courtney sufficiently relaxed, Ziva lets go, circling back to stand in front of her. 

“Okay,” she says. “Bring your hands up and we’ll try again.”

Courtney still isn’t fast enough to catch the punch, but she’s closer, and Ziva counts that as a victory. 

Before Ziva even knows it, an hour has passed. They’re both sweaty and tired, but Ziva can already see Courtney beginning to improve. She tells her as much, enjoying the way her face lights up at the praise.

“Would you be willing to do this again?” Courtney asks as they’re leaving, some of her previous awkwardness returning. 

Ziva lets a genuine smile show on her face. “It would be my pleasure.”

The next Saturday Courtney shows up sans briefcase, though her fingers still twitch as if looking for something to hold on to. 

As soon as they begin to spar, Ziva can tell that Courtney has been practicing. She sees through the tricks Ziva tries to pull, dodging punches and not falling for fake-outs. Ziva is keeping it easy, admittedly, but she’s still impressed.

Halfway through the session, Ziva changes course. It’s perfectly fine to be able to fight, but you need to be able to win. She begins by teaching Courtney how to most effectively tackle your opponent. She explains the move, using her hands to illustrate it before demonstrating, pulling Courtney to the ground with her. 

And, oh, she had not thought this through properly, because now their faces are just inches apart. Ziva’s necklace dangles between them, the star almost grazing Courtney’s neck, and it takes every inch of her self-discipline to stop her voice from coming out strangled.

“Understand?” she asks, looking down at Courtney, the smooth planes of her face. 

“Yeah,” Courtney breathes. Reluctantly, Ziva leans backwards and stands up, offering Courtney her arm to aid in getting up.

“Your turn,” Ziva says, hoping that Courtney can’t see just how much she’s distracted. 

Courtney’s approach isn’t quite right the first time, and her feet come out from under her the second. Ziva pulls her up with a smile, but she can already see Courtney getting frustrated. 

“Relax,” Ziva reminds her.

Third time’s the charm. Courtney nails the maneuver, coming in low and knocking Ziva off balance. The two of them topple to the ground as Courtney pins her lightly to the mat.

Ziva looks up. Courtney is even closer than she had been before, face flushed and chest heaving. They hold eye contact for a long moment, neither of them wanting to be the one to look away. By the time Courtney finally breaks contact, leaning back on her heels, Ziva’s face is hot from more than just the exertion.

At the doors of the gym, Courtney hugs her, startling Ziva. She stiffens for a moment before returning the gesture. Courtney’s hair smells like peaches, and Ziva has to resist the urge to linger. She pulls away after an acceptable amount of time, though not before tenderly tucking a strand of Courtney’s hair behind her ear.

Courtney cancels on her the next week and the one after that. Ziva’s begun to give up hope, wondering if she had crossed a line. When she gets a text one Friday morning, it comes as a welcome surprise. She and Tony are the only ones in the bullpen, but Ziva still instinctively checks her surroundings. Tony’s been surprisingly successful at sneaking up on her, and he really has no regard for privacy. Satisfied that he’s distracted, she glances down:

 _Are you still free on Saturday?_ It’s a simple text, nothing subtextual about it, but Ziva’s heart still leaps into her throat.

 _Of course!_ she responds, immediately wanting to take it back. It’s too enthusiastic, the exclamation point reeking of desperation. Ziva’s probably misinterpreted their relationship anyway, seen attraction where there isn’t any. She closes her eyes and sucks in a breath, opening them only when her phone chimes.

 _Usual place, then? :)_ Ziva types out a quick affirmation, feeling her lips twist up despite her best efforts to keep her expression neutral.

“What are you smiling at, Ziva?” Tony asks, drawing out the syllables of her name.

“None of your business, Tony,” she retorts, giving his name the same treatment, but her smile doesn’t dim an inch. In fact, she’s still smiling twenty minutes later when Gibbs arrives, stalking into the bullpen to announce that there’s been a petty officer murdered in Georgetown.

From the moment she gets the text, Ziva is on tenterhooks (and what a strange word that is, tenterhooks. Ziva had thought it was tenderhooks at first, and she thinks now that maybe it should be, because that’s what it feels like, the tender agony of not knowing how Courtney feels). 

Ziva shows up exactly on time, finding Courtney already waiting for her in the gym. Neither of them acknowledges the tension between them, but, like any elephant in the room, it’s determined to make its presence known. Ziva is still better than Courtney, still faster and more precise, but she has a hard time staying focused. Courtney catches her off-guard a few times, managing to get in a few punches before Ziva regains the advantage.

At the end of the session, Ziva decides that they’re going to spar for real. She knows from experience that nothing takes the edge off of worry like a good fight. The two of them square up, circling around each other as if they’re in one of those terrible boxing movies that Tony enjoys so much. 

Courtney makes the first move, a quick jab that Ziva easily counters. She smirks, returning the punch, though Courtney blocks her in turn. The two of them draw closer, exchanging blows but neither one getting the edge. Ziva sizes her up, looking for a weakness in her defenses. Courtney still holds her hands a little too high, leaving her abdomen exposed.

Ziva moves quickly letting loose a barrage of small jabs before dancing back out of reach. To her credit, Courtney recovers smoothly, bringing her arms lower in a protective stance. They inch closer to each other once again, until Ziva finds herself trying desperately to look anywhere but Courtney’s lips. 

Unhelpfully, Courtney leans in, smiling wickedly.

What are we?” she asks, and asking questions like that should _definitely_ count as cheating, because Ziva’s brain feels as though it’s ground to a halt. Courtney takes this opportunity to knock Ziva off her center of balance, causing her to stumble backwards and lose her footing.

But the move is a blessing in disguise, because this she knows how to deal with. Ziva reacts almost instinctively, grabbing Courtney’s arm when she tries to come for her again. She pulls Courtney towards her, hooking a leg under her knees and tripping her in one fluid movement. Before Courtney can get up, Ziva is on her, ready with her response: “What do you want us to be?”

This time, Courtney gets more than just a hug.

**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me about sapphic ziva on tumblr @ellegreenawy


End file.
